Some Details of the Cell Chip Emerge

Several weeks back, we mentioned the new cell processor chip, jointly developed by Sony , IBM , and Toshiba . The chip, slated to be used in next-generation video game hardware and HDTV sets, features HDTV graphics among other things. Some details have just been released. The chip will have nine processors em

Several weeks back, we mentioned the new cell processor chip, jointly developed by Sony , IBM , and Toshiba . The chip, slated to be used in next-generation video game hardware and HDTV sets, features HDTV graphics among other things.

Some details have just been released. The chip will have nine processors embedded within it. One of these will be a 64-bit "Power" processor, and the other eight will be "synergistic processing units". The chip will run faster than 4 GHz, and will be capable of 256 gigaflops (a "flop" is a floating point operation per second).

Production of test cell processor chips is scheduled to begin later this year. Once in production, the chip will first be used in graphics workstations and in the Sony PlayStation. Previous announcements indicate that it will also find its way into HDTV sets.

Sony, IBM, and Toshiba, joint developers, have revealed some details of the Cell chip that will form the basis of the next generation of PlayStation game consoles to be introduced in 2005, and that will also be incorporated into HDTV receiver designs to be introduced in 2006. The Cell chip differs from its predecessor

IBM, Sony and Toshiba have released details about their jointly developed "Cell" microprocessor, a new multicore chip featuring a 64-bit processor core, multiple OS support, increased bus bandwidth to and from main memory and a flexible on-chip I/O interface. Originally announced in 2001, the companies expect the new c

Broadcom Corp. has unveiled a low-power multimedia processor that it said would give cell phone users access to HD video playback and 12-megapixel camera capabilities with a minimum drain on batteries.